How to Beat City Pollution

We all know that living in the city and even in some sprawling towns has become a dangerous proposition in terms of health risks due to pollution and, in spite of all the efforts done to mitigate it or address it through clean-air laws, the fight has not been quite successful in many regions. The best that the individual can do is to take some simple steps to minimize the aggravation that pollution brings, steps which can be easily done or resorted to at minimal or no cost at all.

1. Minimize exposure as much you can

We all know that staying inside an air-conditioned vehicle does not remove the risk of breathing polluted air. Knowing the parts of the city that are most highly polluted and avoiding them by taking alternative routes will help. For those who take regular exercises outdoors, the best time to do them would be early morning when the dust of the city has settled and pollution is at the lowest level. Better still, if a city has a wide park or a beachfront, doing it there would help reduce breathing toxic gases or aerosols in the air. The best option, especially for highly-polluted cities is to do indoor exercises. In many condos, gyms as are common fixtures which residents can patronize to their advantage.

2. Use ionizers or other dust-and-pollution-reducing gadgets

An ionizer creates a less-polluted indoor condition by electrically charging dusts and aerosols and allowing them to attract to one another and settling down, thus, reducing the amount of pollutants in the air. The secret is to sweep or vacuum the dust that has fallen in order that it does not return into the atmosphere or accumulate in beds, furniture, curtains and other fixtures. Filters for air-conditioners can also help to reduce the pollution as long as they are regularly maintained or replaced.

Using air-conditioners, particularly at home, can be a very expensive proposition. Condos can become heat sinks if they face the east or the west and catch solar energy at least three or four hours daily. Most dwellers would normally use air-conditioners to fend off the heat. While using air-conditioners may be a good way of keeping much of the heat and city pollution out; an ordinary electric fan can also do the same trick particularly at night when it is cooler. An air-curtain will serve to keep the dust and pollution from reaching your room just as an exhaust fan throws away hot air inside a room. You can even save by using one electric fan as a portable air-curtain by simply aiming it toward an open window during times when your aircon is off.

4. Use dust masks outdoors

During times when spending time outdoors cannot be avoided, use dust masks or Ninja masks. Although it might seem awkward or unfashionable, remember you are responsible for your own health. What people think of how you look is the least of your worries when it comes to the danger of pollution to our health and well-being.

5. Learn to breathe properlyOne of the most neglected steps in reducing the effects of pollution is proper breathing. Surprisingly, majority of people do not know how to do this while the ancient Chinese learned the technique of proper breathing for health as well as martial arts purposes thousands of years ago. Strengthening our organs starts with providing them with sufficient oxygen, not just exercising the muscles that operate them, for instance, the heart muscles.

Here is the basic procedure: One, inhale deeply for four seconds in order to supply the lungs with as much oxygen as you can. Two, hold the air inside for six seconds to allow the oxygen to reach as many lung cells as it can. Three, exhale for eight seconds in order expel as much carbon dioxide and, perhaps, other toxic gases you may have in your lungs. Ironically, smokers can gain as much good from this as non-smokers because the last step allows them to expel more toxic gases out of their lungs than those who do not.

We need not be helpless victims of city pollution; so, think of how to reduce its effects through these simple steps. The Peterson Group Bespoke Condominium and Residences operates in Indonesia, helping people become aware of the practical ways of living in the city through practical reviews such as this article.

Led them to live a life that provides them the extra cash to buy condos, cars or travel places. And since, many of these people can take their work wherever they go, they can be as mobile and as creative in their travels as they can be.

However, there are pitfalls to working at home which we must avoid. Here are a few:

1. Lack of discipline

Most people who never had a single day of military training or grew up without meaningful parental guidance find it hard to stick to a regular regimen and become an efficient home-based worker. A lot of young IT workers who spend much time gaming all-day-long and all-night-long while neglecting their work or their potential to do serious and productive work. The temptation of enjoying your time in front of the PC watching movies or playing is by far the greatest bane to modern living, one which has not been sufficiently addressed by parents, teachers, pastors or government people. And why should or how could they when the individual is left entirely on his or her own to do whatever he or she wants at home. Hence, the spate of young people who get sick because they lead a sedentary life and rarely eat enough or do physical exertion.

2. Lack of supervision

Much of the work done at home allows great freedom for people to do practically what they want to do with minimal supervision. While the quality of the work output can be controlled to a great extent, the time and the manner that the work is done is generally beyond the supervision of others. Some may pass on their work to others in order to avoid working and to spend more time on other things – again, gaming or gallivanting. Although some people may have the knack for submitting quality work while doing this, they end up still lacking the discipline and maturity to do serious and hard work for better opportunities in the future. In a sense, modern society is breeding lazy people whose main occupation is to avoid work at all cost. What that will do to the future generations can be a shuddering thought.

3. Stunted creativity

Genuine creativity can only be bred in an atmosphere of intellectual and cultural exchange. Making a good drawing or painting can be learned easily on YouTube nowadays. So it is with playing a guitar or drums. However, one cannot be a truly great musician without playing along with others. Developing creativity requires interacting with others. Working at home can deprive us of the vital ideas and insightful inputs that genuine social interaction provides in the real world and not in the virtual world.

4. Isolation

This is the most frightening risk in working at home. Someone called it “digital isolationism”. The power to make so much money (someone just hacked into a country’s national banking system and transferred $80 million to a foreign account) or even becoming a global phenomenon while sitting in front of a PC or a digital camera (someone who does not even sing well now earns millions of dollars because she became the dub-smash queen, someone who lip-synchs other people’s music; and apparently, now that she is a TV star, she also gets more tweets than Obama on any single day). So many young people today make money working at home while totally avoiding any social interaction – not even with their own families. The risk of living entirely in the virtual world and forgetting the real world has become a sad commentary and dangerous development for our time. Training our children to avoid this danger will help us and them to avoid a zombie-like existence for the future generations.

The Peterson Group Bespoke Condominium and Residences presents this review for residents in Indonesia and around the globe to make them aware of the value of social interaction; and effective entrepreneurship in running a business from one’s home requires a certain level of connection with clients and other people involved in your industry.